Where are the civil servants of Dr Nesiah’s calibre ?

Dr Devanesan Nesiah returned the Deshamanya award conferred on him in 2017, to the Presidential Secretariat recently.

I believe that this is the first time such a thing has happened. Although some reasons for this action of his have been reported, not all that he said and not all the reasons for his action, I am sure, have been reported.

Dr Nesiah was undoubtedly an outstanding Civil Servant, who held many responsible positions.

I believe one of his most difficult assignments was being the Government Agent in Jaffna when the LTTE was in control of Jaffna.

He was among those Civil Servants of the past, who remained faithful to their very high principles and did not succumb to the illegal and unethical orders of politicians.
When Governments changed, when new Ministers took office the heads of such public servants, in the days gone by, did not roll.

What is the situation today? We saw this in the weeks after 26th October.

When new ministers were appointed, the senior public servants who ran those Ministries had to pack their bags and go. Many public servants today are mere yesmen to their Ministers.

They will carry out all orders given to them, whether right or wrong; whether legal or illegal. Where are the high principled civil servants of the past?

Merit is no longer the basis of appointments and promotions. If one is a boot licking public servant you can get all you want.

On what basis is the President’s Counsel in the legal profession appointed? Is merit the basis? Are honours bestowed on persons on the basis of their service to the nation? This is sad, very often, not the case now.

Can we blame high principled, honourable men like Dr Nesiah declining to accept (Or returning) an honour conferred on them if such honours are now, not bestowed on the basis merit for their contribution to the progress of our beloved country?

On what basis is the President’s Counsel in the legal profession appointed? Is merit the basis? Are honours bestowed on persons on the basis of their service to the nation? This is sad, very often, not the case now.